A bond forged from cradle to grave

The death of Karl Chircop which has saddened the country has been especially difficult for Vincent Moran, who was close to the Labour MP throughout his life, delivering him at birth and witnessing him fall into a coma.

The bond between the two men, in fact, was forged the day Karl Chircop was born as Dr Moran who is a former Labour Health Minister, and was the family doctor, assisted in the delivery. The young Karl followed Dr Moran’s footsteps and became a doctor and a politician.

And, as fate would have it, Dr Moran was present when the 43-year-old fell into a coma after fainting at his house on August 3.

After Dr Chircop was diagnosed with cerebral haemorrhage, Dr Moran accompanied him and his wife, Adriana, to the London hospital where he spent the past two months until the machines that were keeping him alive were switched off on Sunday evening.

"I have known Karl prior to his birth because I delivered him myself. I delivered him. I’m his confirmation godfather; a witness to his wedding. He had taken over part of my practice when he became a doctor and he replaced me in politics when I retired in 1996. I have seen him growing up as I was a very good friend of his parents," Dr Moran recalled.

Describing his bond with Dr Chircop as "paternal", Dr Moran recounted that he had been at Dr Chircop’s house when the fell into a coma.

"An hour after I left, his wife called me and told me: ‘Uncle Vince – that’s how they used to call me – Karl fainted and hit his head’. He had told his wife to call me... I went there immediately and he was still semi-conscious. The last words to me were: ‘Uncle Vince, I’ve fainted and knew I was going to faint’." Being a doctor, Dr Chircop was trying to help in his diagnosis, Dr Moran said adding that he later fell into a deep coma.

Looking back at happier days, Dr Moran recalled that he always tried to give Dr Chircop good advice. "I always stressed that he should become a doctor... A good doctor should have a good and humanitarian approach towards people and he really developed these traits from an early age. Both in his private medical career as well as in his public political life, what I have noticed is that he always tried to pick up what I have told him... It made me proud that such a person looked at me in a paternal way.

"That is one thing I always felt. I always felt paternal towards him," Dr Moran said.

Funeral on Saturday

The funeral of Karl Chircop, who died on Sunday, will be held on Saturday.

The family confirmed that arrangements were being made for the funeral but the details will be announced at a later stage.

Dr Chircop died in a hospital in London where he was receiving treatment for a cerebral haemorrhage.

His body is expected to be flown to Malta between today and Friday.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people turned up at the Labour Party headquarters in Ħamrun to sign the book of condolences which the MLP opened.

Among them were President Emeritus Guido de Marco; Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici; the Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Joe Cassar; Nationalist Party secretary general Paul Borg Olivier and the secretary general of the General Workers’ Union, Tony Zarb.

The Labour parliamentary group, led by Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat, were the first to sign the book yesterday.

The book will remain open until Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.